Grade 4

List of 13 items.

• A Sample Day in Grade 4

  Students can arrive as early as 7:30 AM and spend time with friends in the Dining Commons. 
  
  The school day starts promptly at 8:25 AM. In Grade 4, the day begins with Homeroom and a typical day might include:
  
  

  • Mathematics
  • Reading
  • Snack & Recess - students bring their own snacks
  • Physical Education
  • Art
  • Lunch & Recess - the School provides lunch
  • Humanities
  • Science
  • Writing Workshop
  • Spanish

  
  Fourth graders are dismissed at 3:35 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and at 12:30 PM on Tuesdays.

  
  We offer a number of fee-based External Programs that allow students to stay as late as 5:30 PM. 

• Humanities in Grade 4

  How can we get the most out of what we read? How can we organize, revise, and edit our writing to communicate most effectively? What makes the geography of the United States unique and different? How can we use a variety of maps to better understand place? How does a region’s geography, climate, and natural resources affect the way people live and work? Why do people move from one place to another?
  
  Topics of study: U.S. Geography and Immigration.
   

  Skills We Teach:
  

  In Reading: 
  Reading for main ideas • Finding textual evidence to support ideas • Taking notes • Summarizing • Applying critical thinking skills as we read • Comprehension strategies • Decoding multisyllabic words • Spelling patterns and concepts • Building vocabulary 
  
  In Language Arts:
  Grammar • Parts of speech • Sentence structure • Writing mechanics 
  
  In Writing: 
  Descriptive writing • Journal writing • Narrative writing • Planning • Utilizing graphic organizers • Revising • Proofreading • Paragraph writing
  
  In Social Studies:
  Interpreting time lines and maps • The research process • Reading non-fiction for information

• Writers' Workshop in Grade 4

  How can I learn to express my own creative voice through stories and poetry? How can I share my work confidently with the group? How can I give my peers constructive feedback that is both incisive and kind? How can I take my writing through a series of revisions to make it as strong as it can be?

  
  

  Topics of Study:

  Narrative writing • The revision process • Spelling • Mechanics • Genre • Literary Devices •Narrative Tropes • Figurative language • Sensory details

  
  

  Skills We Teach:

  Producing Writing • Revising, editing, and proofreading • Tech skills • Organization • Public speaking • Giving constructive feedback

• Mathematics in Grade 4

  What do mathematicians do to solve problems successfully?

  
  Topics of Study:
  Place value of whole numbers • Estimation and Number Theory • Whole number multiplication & division • Tables and line Graphs • Data and probability • Fractions and mixed numbers • Decimals • Geometry
  
  Skills We Teach:
  Solidifying automaticity with math facts • Estimation • Analyzing story problems and developing strategies to solve them • Creating and analyzing graphs • Finding measures of central tendency • Mastering long division and interpreting remainders • Adding, subtracting and comparing fractions • Identifying, measuring and drawing angles and lines

• Science in Grade 4

  How do we, as scientists, investigate cycles and patterns in the world around us?
  
  Topics of Study:
  Phases and properties of matter • Molecules • Properties of water • Water cycle • Erosion  • Water quality • Engineering design process • Environmental engineering • Coding and computer science • Phenology • Watersheds • Inventions • Climate change
  
  Skills We Teach:
  

  Solving design challenges and creating experimental procedures • Collecting data accurately • Graphing data • Using technology to communicate knowledge • Audience presentation • Collaboration

• Spanish in Grade 4

  How can we combine what we know and what we are learning to create our own Spanish-speaking community?
  
  Topics of Study:
  Greetings and introductions • Hispanic Heritage Month • Simple descriptions • Classroom communication • Basic idiomatic expressions • Introduction to geography of the Spanish-speaking world • Day of the Dead • Hobbies and free time activities • Calendar • Family • Clothing and fashion • Likes and dislikes • Connections to Latin • Long-form passage reading and presentation 
  
  Skills We Teach:
  Asking and responding to questions • Taking positive risks in communication amongst peers • Forming complete sentences from phrases and prior knowledge • Listening, reading, writing, and presenting in Spanish • Comparing likes and dislikes • Use of technology to introduce typing with Spanish keyboard • Total physical response 

• Technology in Grade 4

  At Nashoba Brooks School, educational technology is meaningfully integrated into all content areas to enhance student learning.

  
  Skills We Teach:
  Managing a personal device independently • Expanding on problem-solving skills • Using technology-related vocabulary • Using G Suite for Education across content areas • Exploring the basic functions of spreadsheets • Expanding upon computer skills and troubleshooting • Keyboarding • Creating multimedia presentations • Creating animations • Increasing independence and complexity with block-based coding •  Using CAD software for fabrication

• Drama in Grade 4

  How does drama help us with self-esteem, confidence, and communication?
  
  Topics of Study:
  Mime • Pantomime • Video acting and production • Play production
  
  Skills We Teach:
  Using face, body and voice to communicate characters, actions and ideas • Note taking from dictation • Rehearsing • Memorizing • Performing for the camera and a live audience • Developing audience etiquette • Working cooperatively in small and large groups • Taking direction • Serving in the role of camera director

• Health & Wellness in Grade 4

  How can we use health information to practice a healthy lifestyle? How can our Core Values guide us through a successful middle school experience? How can we interact with our peers and those in our community in a healthy and constructive way?
  
  Topics of Study:
  

  Introduction to Nashoba Brooks Core Values (Empathy, Inclusivity, Resilience) • Character • Self Reflection Time Capsule • Introduction to Mindfulness  • Nutrition • Emotions • Conflict Resolution and Digital Citizenship • Puberty and Human Sexuality

• Library in Grade 4

  Use of the library in Grade 4 is incorporated into subject area classes.
  Asking questions • Using keywords to sift through information • Identifying bias in media • Note taking • Identifying important information in books • Navigating online databases with increased independence

• Music in Grade 4

  I'm a Middle School Musician!
  
  Topics of Study:
  Musical form • Melodic composition and improvisation • Note and rhythm reading • Playing recorders • Folk music • Folk dancingIntroduction to Choral arts• Creative Movement • Performance in a collaborative music and theater setting • Choral Performance
  
  Skills We Teach:
  

  Counting beats and measures • Reading and writing notes on the treble staff • Performing on a stage • Critical listening • Working as an ensemble/team • Developing appropriate vocal techniques

• PE in Grade 4

  How do we become team players?
  
  Topics of Study:
  Field Hockey • Badminton • Basketball • Lacrosse • Track and Field • Character education • Cooperative activities  • Fitness • Invasion games • Futsal • Jump roping • Heart health • Softball 
  
  Skills We Teach:
  Continued practice of gross motor skills(throwing, catching, kicking, traveling), Development of sport specific skills, Offensive and defensive strategies, Cooperative skills (communication, integrity, empathy), Sportsmanship(fairplay, honesty, teamwork), Fitness concepts (muscular endurance, muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, warming up prior to exercise), Striking with short and long handled manipulatives, Leadership

• Visual Arts in Grade 4

  How can we use art as a tool and a means to communicate?
  
  Topics of Study:
  Painting and color mixing • Cardboard and found object sculpture • Observational and imaginative drawing • Watercolor painting • Collage
  
  Skills We teach:
  Drawing: line, shape, and value • Drawing objects from nature and imagination • Painting: watercolor, tempera, acrylic • Multi-dimensional artwork